Melaleuca preissiana, commonly known as Stout Paperbark, Modong or Moonah, is a tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

 that grows in coastal areas of southwest Australia

Southwest Australia

Southwest Australia is a biodiversity hotspot that includes the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregions of Western Australia. The region has a wet-winter, dry-summer Mediterranean climate, one of five such regions in the world...

. It grows up to 15 metres tall, occurring chiefly in areas that are seasonally wet. It has papery bark, and pointed leaves from 1 to 1½ centimetres long and 1 to 2 millimetres wide. White or cream flowers are produced from about November to February.

A scientific description of Melaleuca preissiana was first published by Johannes Conrad Schauer

Johannes Conrad Schauer

Johannes Conrad Schauer was a botanist interested in Spermatophytes. He was a professor of botany at the University of Greifswald. Amongst his published works are descriptions of the myrtles of Western Australia.-References:...

 in Johann Georg Christian Lehmann

Johann Georg Christian Lehmann

Johann Georg Christian Lehmann was a German botanist.Born at Haselau, near Uetersen, Holstein, Lehmann studied medicine in Copenhagen and Göttingen, obtained a doctorate in medicine in 1813 and a doctorate in philosophy from he University of Jena in 1814...

's 1844 Plantae Preissianae 1(1), from a specimen collected by Ludwig Preiss

Ludwig Preiss

Johann August Ludwig Preiss was a German-born British botanist and zoologist.Preiss was born in Herzberg am Harz, Germany. He obtained a doctorate, probably at Hamburg, then emigrated to Western Australia...

 and sent to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in one of James Drummond

James Drummond (botanist)

James Drummond was a botanist and naturalist who was an early settler in Western Australia.-Early life:...

's collections.

The common name "moonah" is probably attributed in error. Flora of the Perth Region uses the name, but other sources use "moonah" in reference to Melaleuca lanceolata

Melaleuca lanceolata

Melaleuca lanceolata is a small tree or shrub in the genus Melaleuca, native to Australia. It has a number of common names including Black Paperbark, Moonah, Rottnest Island Teatree and Western Black Tea tree....

(Moonah or Rottnest Island Tea-tree).

The species is one of three typical trees occurring in the peat of Mound springs of the Swan Coastal Plain, ecological communities surrounding aquifer discharges of the Gnangara Mound

Gnangara Mound

The Gnangara Mound is an area north of Perth, Western Australia where a large mound of sandy soil reaches an elevation of about 60 metres. It stores about 20 cubic kilometres of fresh water, about one hundred times Perth's current annual water usage. It is currently the single most important source...

.